Advanced Ecommerce Academy Review: Seth Smith Shopify Course

If you're familiar with Seth Smith from his Youtube Channel, you're probably familiar with his course - Advanced Ecommerce Academy.

I took a deep dive into his course to see if it's worth it or if you should take a pass.

First, as of this writing, Seth is somewhat new to the game as his videos have been around for just about a year. He's shy of 1500 subscribers on his channel which isn't a lot. Is he cashing in on the course game just to make a quick buck or is it legit?

One thing I can say is that he's very good on camera, knows how to captivate your attention and also gives some good advice. It's nothing that I haven't heard before though from other Youtubers. Maybe you like his style.

The course is marketed to beginners with a price tag of $1997. WTF. I paid just a little more than that for Ecom Success Academy but that was from Adrian Morrison who has been around a lot longer and has a massive following. 

Advanced Ecommerce Academy Update

This review needs an update, It's over 2 years old. If you found it, then you are going to want to know this.

I can't seem to find Seth's Youtube Channel anymore. Has it been deleted? Not only that, but I can't find his course either. When I search for it I just see a bunch of reviews (mine included near the top of course 😁 but his course is nowhere to be found.

What happened to Seth? 

If anyone knows, please send me a message. If you are still looking for a course on dropshipping, then please see this.

Below is the review of the course when it existed.

Anyway, let's bust into this course review and see what this is all about.

The course has content for 9 weeks. Whether this gets updated remains to be seen. 

It starts off with a welcome video, an overview of the course and you get to learn a bit more about Seth himself. Nice.

Week 1 - Product Research

A small module with just 3 videos that discuss general vs niche type stores and then gets into product research for both.

He talks about some free and paid tools like Thieve.co & Dropship Spy, 

Week 2 - Building Your Store

Week 2 has a lot more content so you're probably going to want to take some notes. He does push a tool called "Rocketmessage" and you've probably seen him wear swag on his channel with the same name. I'm not sure if he owns this service but will look into it. It's irrelevant right now anway for the purposes of this review.

Use this service at your own risk as there have been some reported Facebook bans for using this software.

As I mentioned, there's a lot of videos in this section and I will summarize most of them below so you get an idea.

  • Shopify - Setup, shipping rates, picking a plan, shipping info
  • Logos - get one done on the cheap
  • Domains - registering
  • Installing and setting up Rocketmessage
  • Google Analytics setup
  • Email setup
  • Pricing
  • Oberlo automation
  • Conversion optimization
  • Adding reviews
  • Set up parcel tracking
  • Image Editing & Optimization

Week 3 - Facebook Ads

There's about 25 videos in this section on Facebook ads. That may seem like a lot, but it's not as comprehensive as other dropshipping courses I recommend

You'll learn about the Facebook Pixel, Audience insights, Targeting, different Interest Group building and more listed below:

  • Niche Organizing
  • Effective testing
  • Flex targeting
  • Improve tracking data
  • Creating and launching ads
  • Video Audiences & retargeting methods
  • Fan Page strategies
  • Engagement Audiences
  • Look-a-like Audiences
  • Analysis & 20% scaling method

Week 4 - Email Marketing

Not to be missed with ecom is Email Marketing so glad to see this is included with his training. You'll learn the basics plus how to build relationships, email marketing strategies to sell more, collecting emails and so on. You'll also learn how to set up Klaviyo. 

Klaviyo is a good platform and you can start with a free plan if you're new, but expect that price to skyrocket as you gain more subscribers. For ecom I prefer Mailchimp but do check out the pricing between these two platforms before committing to any.

There's a few videos on setting up Klaviyo so if you're going to go with this service then great, if not, you can skip these. 

Week 5 - Instagram Influencer Strategy

Here you will learn about Instagram influencer basics in regards to posting, hashtags, engagement and scheduling.

You'll also learn:

  • How to identify Instagram Influencers
  • Vetting Influencers
  • Contacting Influencers
  • How much to pay
  • Tracking Results & Scaling

Week 6 - Instagram Ads

Here's where Seth gets into the actual ads. It's a short module but you'll get an intro to Insta ads, launching your first Ad, creating video stories and launching Insta Stories Ads.

Week 7 - Scaling Past 10K

Don't you wish you had this problem? Anyway, in this week you will learn how to take your store beyond 10K. I'll summarize the modules below:

  • Advanced conversion optimization - What if they don't add to cart?
  • Scaling past 10K
  • Vertical & Horizontal Scaling
  • Scaling to new lands
  • Scaling by Objectives & Audience Optimization
  • Magic Pixel Scaling
  • Increasing AOV (average order value)
  • Manual FB ads bidding
  • Power of UGC

Week 8 - Outsourcing & Automation

Just some simple videos on how to outsource your customer support and fulfillment. The end.

Week 9 - Branding & Growth

In eCom, Branding is SO important and obviously growth. In this week you will learn how to brand your most popular items, set up fulfillment, print on demand, partnering with Influencers, building relationships & exposure and if you so decide - how to sell your store for lots of moula.

Week 10 - Bonus

Seth throws you a bonus here if you're looking to sell some high ticket items. He provides a list of drop shippers you can use should you feel so inclined.

My Thoughts on Advanced Ecommerce Academy

Well, you know by now that it is no longer available. Or it's buried so deeply in the serps that it's hard to find. Still, that's a bad sign. 

This was a $1997 course which in my mind is way too high. 

I'd much rather you invest in a course that isn't going to break your bank so you won't have any buyers remorse. Plus, the money you save can be put towards Facebook/Google Ads. For $197 you can pick up eCom Elites which is still going strong today. Click here to see my review and learn more about it.

Drew Mann

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